


Masquerade

by AgentOfShip



Series: Promptober [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Dancing, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Grumpy Fitz, Masked ball, Masquerade, Oblivious Nerds, Pining, Sci-Ops Era (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), halloween party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 08:36:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20963630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentOfShip/pseuds/AgentOfShip
Summary: Jemma goes to a masked ball hoping to meet men. Fitz goes to a masked ball hoping to get over his feelings for his best friend. What could possibly happen?Written for promptober day 9-Halloween PartiesThank you @blancafic for the awesome prompt and @LibbyWeasley for the awesome beta <3





	Masquerade

"So, you're still coming, right?" Jemma asked nervously. 

"Yes!" Jennifer answered, rolling her eyes. 

Jemma supposed Jennifer was right to be a little annoyed as it was the fifth time Jemma asked her and she'd said yes every time. They'd even already been shopping for a dress and a mask. Jemma was really excited to go to this Halloween party and hopefully meet people but it really sounded awfully fancy, as the term "masked ball" suggested, and she'd been told she could be a little strange when you first met her. She really needed to be sure there'd be someone she knew well there, at least until she relaxed a little. 

"I still don't understand why you're not taking Fitz though. It'll be dark and fancy and super romantic. If there was a guy I could take there, I—"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Jemma cut her off, taking a panicked look around to make sure her best friend wasn't close. She'd been out of the lab and in the break room with Jennifer for fifteen minutes already and she was surprised, and a little bit hurt, that Fitz hadn't come looking for her already. She moved closer to Jennifer and lowered her voice just to be safe. 

"No, it's not like that with Fitz. There's nothing sexual between us."

"I said romantic, not sexual," Jennifer replied, waggling her eyebrows and Jemma rolled her eyes. She was honestly so tired of explaining her relationship with Fitz to everybody.

"Well, we're already doing everything together so if our relationship should become _romantic_, sex would be the only new thing to add to the equation."

"Well, do it then! He's cuter than the last guy you dated, you already like everything else about him apparently and you know _he_ will follow your thought process."

"No, that's not," Jemma started before backtracking. "Well that's true but I told you, it's not like that with Fitz. He's not um... he's not interested in... sex."

"What does that even mean?" Jennifer asked, frowning. "You mean he's asexual?"

"No! I mean, I don't know. I don't think so. Not completely at least. Back when we were sixteen, I saw him flirt, I think he dated a bit. I even thought he had a crush on me at some point. But now, people flirt with him and it just goes over his head. It's like he doesn't even notice. And it's fine really, maybe he doesn't like sex or maybe he prefers to focus on his career or—"

"Maybe he's only interested in one person..." 

"Oh! Did he tell you something? Maybe I could..." Jemma trailed off. "Oh you mean me, right?"

"Well, duh!" Jennifer let out, nudging Jemma's shoulder. 

"No, I don't think so, Jen."

"Well, did you ask him?"

"No, and I won't. I don't want to embarrass him, he doesn't like talking about those things. He's my best friend and he's perfect and I love him with all my heart but I wouldn't want to risk that for some physical needs he probably wouldn't be interested in fulfilling."

"Wow! That is romantic when you say it like that," Jennifer said with a mock dreamy voice. 

Jemma rolled her eyes. But there was no need to sugar coat it. After the fiasco that had been her last relationship, she had kind of given up on finding the perfect man. She just wanted someone attractive who could be interesting long enough for her not to fall asleep before they'd gotten to the kissing and sex part of the evening. And Fitz, well he was a mystery in that department. Especially since they graduated from the Academy and moved in together. She couldn't even tell if he'd had sex already or if he was interested in it at all so… in any case, it was probably safe to assume he wouldn't want it with her.

"And he says he's not but I know he's mad at me since I told him we'd have to make our usual horror movie marathon the day after Halloween. Acting all weird and distant. I'll really have to make it up to him by the way. But certainly not by inviting him to come to that masked ball with me. He'd absolutely hate it anyway."

-0-0-0-

If he wasn't so bored and uncomfortable, Fitz would have been fascinated to discover that a single event could tick so many items on the list of things he hated. The place was just full of loud people, even louder music, he'd tripped and almost fell three times because it was so dark and he'd mistaken someone else for his friend twice already because these bloody masks hid half of people's faces. He'd have to apologize for making fun of whoever first created Batman because hiding the top of someone's face was indeed enough for everyone else not to recognize them. But couldn't rich people do normal Halloween costumes? He could have worn his monkey outfit or his Doctor Who costume from the previous year or really, just anything that didn't make him feel quite so, ironically, exposed all while being practically unrecognizable. The sales lady had said the trousers were supposed to be this tight but he still couldn't get used to it, not to mention the waistcoat. But at least he had the weird tailcoat jacket to cover his bum and the lion mask wasn't half bad. Certainly not as scary as the monkey one, that was for sure. Honestly, what kind of monkeys had they taken inspiration from?

The barman brought his beer and Fitz finally left the bar area. That was the one good thing about being at a party in a place that looked like Wayne Manor, a wide choice of mostly good beers and refined alcohol. Fitz was on his third and, if the party wasn't getting any more fun, at least he was more relaxed. He rejoined Jackson's table and sighed discreetly as he realized that the idiot was still talking about his supposedly revolutionary and very classified gun design with plenty of civilians around.

Jackson had invited Fitz to the party after he'd helped the idiot repair a mistake that might have cost him his job and Fitz's first instinct had been to decline. The ball was at his parent's house and his father being a senator or a governor or something and his mother being old money, Fitz knew he would feel completely out of place there. But the next day, Jemma had told him they'd have to do their usual Halloween movie marathon on another day because she had plans for the 31st. Not that doing the marathon another day made a big difference but he knew what "plans" meant. A date, obviously. Which also meant that all hope he had that it would be the night he finally had the courage to tell her how he felt had evaporated. His crush on his best friend had been manageable during their time at the Academy but ever since they'd moved in together as they started Sci-Ops, it had quickly turned into much more than that. Spending even more time with her had only shone light on a whole new host of things to love about her.

So he'd remembered Jackson's invitation and how he had said there would be lots of women who supposedly had a thing for scientists, and Fitz had decided that maybe it was time to move on. Except it was easier said than done. You just didn't walk into such a bloody fancy party and start a conversation with strangers hoping it could lead to more. At least, he didn't. 

Scanning the room and what seemed like the five hundred people there, Fitz's eyes stopped on the door, by which he'd been led inside by an actual butler, and gave it a wistful look. He wondered how much longer he'd have to wait until it'd be acceptable for him to leave. Or how many more drinks he'd have to bring Jackson for him not to notice his absence. 

But that was when he noticed her, the one woman standing out from the crowd on the mezzanine. He didn't remember being told that there was a dress code in terms of color but it seemed that everyone was wearing something that was either black or dark-something except her. She had a dress made from a shiny fabric and in various shades of green that matched her bird mask. And she looked mightily bored too, giving the group of people she was talking to a polite smile every once in a while before going back to looking at the door as well. Fitz smiled and that was the moment she chose to look at him. Or at least her head turned in his direction, it was hard to tell with the mask and the fact that she was all the way across the dance floor. Fitz was about to look away when she smiled at him. She looked towards the door then back at him and smiled wider. Fitz chuckled discreetly. That was probably the best interaction he'd had with someone all night. Feeling emboldened, Fitz mouthed "bored?" at her and she nodded eagerly before mouthing "you?" Fitz gave the group at his table a look but they were all apparently very focused on something on Jackson's girlfriend’s phone. So he looked back up at the bird lady then mimed wrapping a rope around his neck before pulling on it and sticking his tongue out. She burst out laughing and quickly put her hand over her mouth to muffle the sound, but one of her friends still noticed it. She said something that seemed to make them laugh before turning back to Fitz. 

"Sorry," he mouthed at her, the smile on his face contradicting his word. He'd made a woman laugh by miming something and he was in fact very proud of himself. 

She shook her head and smiled back widely. When nothing else happened for a whole minute, Fitz thought that was it and was ready to store it as the one good memory from this evening. But then she stood up, saying something close to one of the other women's ear and turned back to mouth something at him. Fitz thought it was "Wanna dance?" but surely he wasn't so lucky as to have a seemingly beautiful woman inviting him to dance without even having exchanged a single word but just in case, he repeated "dance?" as he nodded towards the dance floor and she smiled as she shrugged her shoulders.

Well, it was a ball after all, so dancing was supposed to be an important part of the night, right? So he smiled and nodded, not even bothering to say something to Jackson before he stood up and started walking towards the dance floor, or ballroom, or whatever this place was called. He watched her walk along the balcony and down the stairs, mostly because he didn't want to lose her in the darkened, crowded room but also because she looked so graceful walking, like an exotic bird in the middle of a murder of crows. And it was kind of funny to watch too as she tried to avoid running into someone every few meters. Finally, she made it downstairs and as there was no other way anyway, she started walking into the rather dense crowd of dancers. As the music changed, something with a faster pace Fitz recognized from the nineties, he started walking faster too. The woman seemed to be a little shorter than he was, so not very tall, and hard to keep track of. Finally, a couple of very enthusiastic dancers passed behind him and Fitz found himself pushed against the woman. 

"Sorry," Fitz said, not even hearing his own voice over the music as he tried to right himself by holding her shoulders. She shook her head and smiled as she took his hands and wound them around her waist instead. Fitz looked at her. She was pretty much his height, although she'd be shorter without her heels, and the curves revealed by her dress looked even lovelier up close, and felt especially nice under his hands. Not to mention the smile adorning her pretty, full lips. He wished he could see the rest of her face but there was a no taking off the mask rule. And maybe it was the alcohol talking but it was kind of exciting. Not knowing who she was. Although a treacherous little voice in the back of his mind told him it was because he could imagine it was Jemma, but he tried his best to ignore it. They started swaying to the music and her hands moved up his arms until they were around his neck, making a little thrill run through his body.

So, all this time, the key to meeting people was actually to not talk to them at all?

-0-0-0-

This was the most ridiculous thing Jemma had ever done but it was still the closest to her expectations of what she thought this evening would be. Oh yes, it was all very elegant and mysterious, the decorations, the masks. Even the manor (or was it a castle?) was straight out of a gothic novel. But the people? She knew that quite a few people from Sci-Ops had been invited but no one who could hold her interest very long. So she'd joined Jennifer's group of friends. The conversation about NASA's latest discovery had been nice for a time but it had quickly drifted towards other subjects which turned out to be really quite boring. As were the few men she'd talked to that didn't even manage to be interesting long enough to have the time to ask her to dance before she wanted to run away. It hadn't taken long for her mind to stray towards Fitz, telling herself that she'd have much more fun with him at home. 

But then her eyes had crossed paths with the stranger and she'd been immediately intrigued. He looked like he felt just as out of place as she did and he was funny. He had made her laugh sincerely and that was more than she could say about anyone else since the beginning of the evening. And this was a ball after all and she'd be damned if she left before having at least one proper dance. 

They tried to exchange a few words as they danced but it was useless with the noise around and the loud music. They'd already danced to one song and there was now some sort of blues song with a dark atmosphere blasting through the speakers. It was sung by a woman with a breathy voice and, even though it wasn't what Jemma would usually listen to but, it was still kind of... sexy. Which probably also had to do with her partner. One didn't need extraordinary skills to dance to this, she supposed, but he followed the rhythm perfectly and his hold on her waist was really nice. Just the right amount of firm and gentle with long, warm fingers that fluttered lightly over her skin, even through the fabric of her dress. She didn't know if he did it on purpose or if it was unconscious but... Jemma sighed as she looked back at him. She wished she could see his eyes but he had his back to the light and his mask created a shadow over them. His mouth was nice though, especially as he smiled at her like that. A mix of shy and playful. 

So maybe it was better that way, that they remained on the dance floor and not move somewhere quieter to have a drink and start talking. Better for him to stay the mysterious, handsome stranger who could make her laugh without talking rather than for her to discover that they had nothing to talk about or that he was too dumb to even say biochemistry. 

The music changed to something more upbeat but still a little retro and before she had the time to ask him if he wanted to have another dance, he'd taken her hand and made her twirl, grinning as he pulled her back to him and took hold of her other hand. Okay, so that was completely adorable and kind of smooth. Her smile widened and they started dancing again. He was leading the dance, quite nicely actually, but followed her lead in terms of hands placement, only letting them slide down her hips when she started swaying them and slowly enough to give her time to stop him. It was getting hot in the middle of all those people but Jemma really didn't feel like leaving just yet, she was having too much fun and, if she was completely honest, the way their faces had grown increasingly closer was partly responsible for the heat she felt and the quickening of her heartbeat. As the song was about to end, he took her hand again and sent her twirling one more time. But Jemma hadn't expected to bump against another dancer and be pushed back against him so hard. She ended up completely in his arms, her face so close to him he was kind of blurry. 

"Sorry," he mouthed but _she_ was in fact not sorry at all. His arms felt wonderful around her and, so close, she could tell he smelled really nice, something fresh, a little sweet and strangely familiar. 

So, even though the music changed to something even more upbeat, Jemma wound her arms around his neck again and started swaying her hips ever so slowly. She smiled when she felt the little gasp escape his lips and moved her face even closer, looking up into his shadowed eyes. His fingers tensed on her hip and that was when they finally closed the gap. His lips were just as sweet and soft as they looked and she enjoyed the sensation for a few delicious seconds before pulling back. It was completely insane, she didn't even know his name or... He chased her lips, trapping her top one between his and she forgot sanity altogether. Desire surged up inside her as he pulled her closer, one hand sliding up until it reached the uncovered skin of her upper back. She shivered and moaned as she tilted her head to deepen the kiss. They kept swaying as they kissed, to a rhythm that wasn't the one blasting through the speakers but that they still somehow shared. Jemma couldn't believe how intoxicating this kiss was. From the way their lips and tongues moved in synchrony to his hand guiding her hips as she moved or the feeling of his curls under her fingers. That last detail made the image of her best friend pop up in her brain but she was too far gone to question the fact that it only added to the growing ache between her legs. 

Jemma didn't know how much time had passed when she remembered the world around them but she knew she was panting harshly and the music had changed once more. Someone who sounded a little drunk had bumped into them and suggested they "get a room". She knew it was just a phrase and they were probably being very inappropriate but she thought it was, in fact, an excellent idea. 

Even with the low lighting, she could tell her "dance partner" was embarrassed and blushing and she would have none of that. This was too good to stop now. She would probably cry of frustration if he suggested they exchange phone numbers and go on a proper date. So, closing the distance between them once more, she crashed her lips to his and grinned into the kiss when he responded eagerly. But she had to bite back what he would have been an indecent moan as he pulled her close and she had the very firm proof that embarrassment was not the dominant feeling inside him at the moment after all. 

She let her hand slide down his arm and grabbed his hand as she broke the kiss. She nodded towards the mezzanine and he nodded eagerly. She managed to make her way out of the crowd with the stranger in her wake and made a beeline for the stairs. There was a long corridor she'd taken to go to the loo earlier and there were a lot of doors on both sides that hopefully led to bedrooms. Actually any room with a door, a lock and a flat surface would do. She couldn't believe she was going to do that and at the same time, just the sensation of his hand holding hers was sending tendrils of heat all through her body. 

They passed the loo, walked a few more meters, then Jemma turned around to see if he still looked as eager as earlier but she didn't have the time to say a word. He pressed her against the nearest door, crashing his lips to hers as he now unashamedly pushed his erection against her pelvis. Jemma whimpered and grabbed his arse to encourage him. What she felt through his trousers was very promising and, worse came to worse, with his tongue eagerly exploring her mouth, she might not even need a room, just a few more minutes of this. But then he cupped her breast through her dress and her hands went to his waist almost of their own volition, desperately searching for any kind of fastening on those bloody fancy trousers.

Door. Lock. Clothes. It had to happen in that order. 

She blindly scrambled for the door knob and almost cried out in relief when it opened without resistance. They stumbled inside and Jemma just had the time to lock it behind them before his lips were on her neck as he held her from behind. Her head fell to the side as she enjoyed his slightly scratchy kisses and she took this opportunity to take a look around for the first time. There was a massive bed in the center with big wooden bed posts and what looked to be a very fancy bedspread. Jemma felt almost bad for how they were going to defile it. His hand moved up to cup her breast, finding her nipple through her dress. But not enough to stop. 

There was no light on but with the full moon filtering through the tall windows, that was enough to navigate through the room. He directed her towards the bed and she let him, turning around at the last minute to make him sit on the edge of the bed. He let out a deep sort of laugh that made her heart flutter for a reason she didn't truly understand. Maybe because she was actually hearing this stranger's voice for the first time and she liked it a lot? He pulled her between his legs and let his hands descend down her sides and thighs slowly before moving back up under her dress. Her skin was icy since she'd decided to forego wearing tights or stockings and his warm fingers felt sinfully good as he trailed them up. He reached the bit of lace barely covering her and palmed her arse. She smiled as he kneaded the flesh for a moment before one hand moved back to her front. He pressed a finger between her folds and a soft, keening noise escaped her lips. He slowly moved up and down then, his delicate fingers following her reactions. The silence in the room only broken by her noises of pleasure felt awfully intimate, especially after the way things had started on the dance floor. Her mysterious stranger really was a wonderful surprise. After a moment, as she herself getting closer and closer to the edge, he stopped and hooked his fingers on the side of her knickers. He waited a few seconds and when she didn't stop him, he kept going slowly, running his fingers all the way down and making her tremble every time he strayed towards the inside of her legs. His face was still mostly shadowed by his mask but his heavy breathing combined with his gentle hands were sending Jemma's brain into overdrive and she just couldn't wait any longer. When her knickers were finally off, she pushed him further back onto the bed and straddled his lap, her arms around his neck as she kissed him roughly. Rolling her hips against his erection, she ran her fingers through his hair again. It really was incredibly soft and curly, just like—

"Christ, you're amazing!" he mumbled against her lips.

God, Fitz was so present in her brain all the time that she could have sworn she heard a Scottish accent just then. 

"I don't even know your name, should we—"

She cut him off with another kiss, going for his trousers once more as his hand was now on her breast, teasing her hard nipple through her dress. Bloody hell, those hands felt heavenly. She'd never meant a single man who had such beautiful, agile and warm hands except for— 

Wait. She hadn't imagined it. That _was_ a Scottish accent. And those curls, that laugh, this vaguely familiar scent…

A shiver ran down her spine as she pulled back slightly, her legs suddenly feeling like jelly and not just because of the pleasure radiating from her center.

"Fitz?!" she whispered, like she was afraid that saying it out loud would make it real.

There was a small gasp, nothing for a moment and then his hands were off her breast, making her whimper desperately despite herself. 

"Jemma?" he let out in a squeaky voice and she gasped, although she hadn't really needed the vocal confirmation.

She scrambled to her feet with as much dignity as she could muster considering her jelly legs and the fact that she had been humping her best friend's erection a moment ago, and walked to the side of the bed to turn on the little lamp she'd noticed there earlier. Taking off her mask, she turned back to Fitz who had done the same.

His face was a lovely beetroot color, his hair was a mess and his lips were red and swollen from kissing her and at the moment, Jemma's prominent thought was that he'd look even better sprawled out on the bed with much fewer clothes on him. Bloody hell, how could she have been so wrong about her best friend? She'd always found him handsome, obviously, but now she had her answer concerning his interest in sex and most likely his experience too. Oh god, her best friend had touched her <i>there</i> and all she could think of was how much she wanted it to happen again. Ideally very soon and hopefully very often in the near future.

For now, she had to say something. Anything really, because Fitz was growing redder and she was afraid that his head might catch fire or that his eyes might pop out of his skull if he opened them even slightly wider.

"Well, that's unexpected," Jemma let out, voice still raspy and sounding terribly loud in the silent room.

"Not really," Fitz replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"What? Wait, did you know it was me and you didn't—"

"No! No, no, no, I didn't, I would have said something. it's just I-I… lately I've developed… feelings, new feelings for you and… I suppose it's not surprising that I would be attracted to you even when I didn't know it was you."

"What?" she gasped, coming to stand closer to him. He moved away from her and crossed his leg over the other in a ridiculous attempt to hide the tent in his trousers. As if she hadn't been pressed, very nicely, against it a moment ago. "But why didn't you say anything or—"

"Because you cancelled our plans to go to a stupid rich people's party!" 

"Oh please, Fitz! It's just watching movies, it's not exactly a romantic—"

"And you know, I don't think it's really safe to hook up with a stranger that you don't even know the face or name of, Jemma!"

"Fitz!" she hissed, swatting his shoulder harshly. "I cannot believe you just said that. Especially when _you_ were going to hook up with a stranger when you're supposed to have feelings for <i>me</i>!" she finished, punctuating every word with her finger poking his shoulder more and more harshly.

"Ow!" he cried out as he stood up to move farther away from her. "I was just trying to get over you because you were clearly not interested!"

"Oh, that's— How could you know that? You never asked!"

"Oh come on! Like you would have kissed me if you knew it was me!"

She squinted her eyes at him in annoyance and the next second she was in front of him, capturing his lips in another kiss. He let out a squeaky noise of surprise but quickly reciprocated, winding one arm around her as the other cradled her head, moaning as the kiss quickly picked up the same heat and intensity as earlier. 

It was very tempting to keep going and push him back onto the bed to finish what they'd started but they also had a conversation to finish and she had several things to clarify.

"Now I know it's you, so what do you think that means?" she asked against his lips.

"Jemma…"

"You're my best friend and I love you more than anything, Fitz. And well, apparently, we're also very physically compatible. I'm not saying it would have all happened so fast if you told me how you felt but movie night would have certainly taken on a whole new meaning…" 

She wound her arm around his neck in a gesture that was more tender than passionate and his lips finally pulled up into a broad smile. 

"Why are we bickering again?" he asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Because you're kind of a coward and a patronizing idiot." 

"Oh." 

"But I'm willing to look past that and see your better qualities," she added immediately when his face fell quite comically.

"Oh, really? So what do you think those qualities—" 

"Don't push it!" she said, stopping him with a finger on his lips. He grinned even wider and she felt the overwhelming need to have those lips on her, everywhere on her. She could already see how this was possibly going to be a problem at work because that was the triumphant smile he had on when something was a success. Which was quite often. But she would worry about that later.

Instead, she walked him backwards and pushed him until he was on the bed, flat on his back. She followed immediately, sighing at the sensation as she straddled his hips once more. She didn't lose another minute and reached for the zipper of her dress before pulling it over her head. Jemma grinned as his eyes darkened and his mouth opened and closed several times without letting out a single sound. Her nakedness apparently left him speechless. Which was perfectly fine by her. If anything, tonight had proven that, sometimes, not speaking had its merits. Besides, she could think of many other ways for him to use his mouth at the moment.


End file.
